When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The noon bustle in the cafeteria was like a thick, hot quilt, pressing down on everyone.The sound of human voices, the clatter of plates, and the distorted music on the radio mixed with the strong smell of oil smoke and food in the air, sticking to the skin stickyly.Ye Qiulan held the plate and looked at the crowd of people and the densely packed tables and chairs, looking for a space where he could sit down.

Suddenly someone touched her shoulder lightly from behind.

She turned back sharply.Ling Xueqing stood half a step behind her, also holding a dinner plate in her hand. The dishes were simple, one meat and one vegetable, and the rice was piled squarely.She frowned slightly, not out of impatience, but more like an instinctive discomfort with the overly noisy environment.The sunlight slanted in from the tall windows of the cafeteria, casting a clear transition between light and dark on her straight nose and slightly pursed lips.

“Over there.” Ling Xueqing raised her chin and pointed to the end of the row of tables and chairs against the wall.There happened to be two empty seats facing each other, sandwiched between a few students who were discussing club activities animatedly. It wasn’t quite quiet, but at least it had a place to stay.

Ye Qiulan nodded and followed Ling Xueqing through the crowded aisle.Ling Xueqing walked in front of her, using her thin but straight shoulders to inconspicuously separate some of the oncoming people.The soup on the plate swayed slightly with the steps, but not a drop was spilled.

Walking to that corner, the two sat down facing each other.The plastic chair legs scraped against the ground, making a screeching sound that was instantly lost in the surrounding noise.

Ye Qiulan looked down at his dinner plate.Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried broccoli, rice.Very ordinary cafeteria food.She picked up the chopsticks, but she had no appetite.I stayed up late last night sorting out the textual research notes for “Yiyun Pavilion”, and there was still sour fatigue in my eyes. At this moment, I was aroused by the turbid air in the cafeteria, and my sun was aching.

Ling Xueqing opposite had already started eating quietly.Her eating posture was as upright as ever, her chopsticks rising and falling almost silently, chewing slowly, her eyes lowered to her plate, as if the bustling people around her had nothing to do with her.The sun shone on her hand holding the chopsticks, her knuckles were clear, and her skin was almost transparent under the light.

Ye Qiulan picked up a piece of tomato and put it into his mouth.The taste is a bit bland and there is not enough salt.She chewed mechanically, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to Ling Xueqing.Ling Xueqing’s side face looked a little too clear in the bright light, and you could even see the extremely subtle arc of her cheeks that undulated slightly as she chewed.Today she wore a light gray round-neck thin shirt, revealing her slender white neck and a small clear collarbone.

My heart beat twice quickly for no reason.Ye Qiulan hurriedly looked away and stared at the mixed red, yellow and green dishes on his plate.

“How are you sorting out the postscript?” Ling Xueqing suddenly spoke. Her voice was not high, but miraculously it penetrated the surrounding noise and reached Ye Qiulan’s ears clearly.

Ye Qiulan raised his head.Ling Xueqing was also looking at her, her chopsticks stopped in mid-air, her eyes calm and questioning.

“That’s almost it.” Ye Qiulan put down his chopsticks, took out a folder from the canvas bag at his feet, and pulled out a few pages of densely written paper. “According to what you said last time, I focused on sorting out the vague records from “Yongzhou Old News Collection” to “Kangxi Yongyong”.The “Guixi” and “Yiyun” marks on the map of “Chenghua Huguang Tongzhi”, and the chain of clues that identify the “Tangxian Recreation Area” and the “Yuanhe” year name are all listed, and I have also marked some doubtful places in red.”

She handed over the manuscript paper.Ling Xueqing took it and didn’t read it immediately. Instead, she picked up the paper towel next to her and wiped her hands. Then she unfolded the manuscript paper and read it line by line in the dim natural light of the canteen.

She reads very quickly, her eyes are calm, and she pauses from time to time. Her fingertips tap lightly on a certain sentence or mark, as if she is making a mark in her heart.The surroundings were still noisy, with several boys arguing loudly about last night’s football match, the girl at the next table letting out crisp laughter, and a louder pop song came on the radio.But Ling Xueqing seemed to be in a transparent cover, and all the noise was blocked out.

Ye Qiulan looked at her focused side face, her long and dense eyelashes that were slightly trembling, and her lips that occasionally pursed slightly because of thinking. The irritability in his heart caused by the environment calmed down a lot unconsciously.She picked up the chopsticks again and took small bites of the already cold food.

A few minutes later, Ling Xueqing finished reading.She carefully folded the manuscript paper and handed it back to Ye Qiulan.”The logic is clear and the evidence is properly cited.” She commented, her tone purely objective. “The areas of doubt are also clearly marked. Okay.”

Yes.Not “very good”, not “good”, but “ok”.In Ling Xueqing’s dictionary, this is probably a pretty good affirmation.Ye Qiulan took the manuscript paper, his fingertips touched Ling Xue’s cool fingertips, and his heart trembled slightly.

“The main part of the report,” Ling Xueqing picked up the free soup bowl next to him, took a sip, and then said, “I wrote a rough outline last night. The core argument revolves around the authenticity of the fragments of “Ji Diwen”, supplemented by the contents of other auxiliary fragments. The clues you discovered about the ‘Yi Yun Pavilion’ serve as important circumstantial evidence to speculate on the subject matter and geographical tendency of Liu Zongyuan’s lost landscape travel notes, and are placed in the third part.”

She paused and looked at Ye Qiulan, “When we review the manuscript in the afternoon, we will polish the connection between the two parts. Your postscript will be directly used as Appendix 1.”

Ye Qiulan nodded.”Okay.” She thought for a moment and then asked, “Then…signature of the report?”

By convention, group assignments are usually jointly signed, but sometimes there are particularities about whose name comes first.

Ling Xueqing almost didn’t hesitate.”You are the first author,” she said, her tone as calm as if she was explaining the weather tomorrow. “You discovered the clues, and you completed the appendices independently. I wrote the core argument, but the overall framework and direction were discussed together. For joint signatures, your name comes first.”

Ye Qiulan was stunned.She had never thought about fighting for the first author, and even felt that Ling Xueqing had taken on the more core and arduous part of the argument and should be first.Ling Xueqing gave up this position to her so naturally. The reason was sufficient and irrefutable.

“That’s not…” She subconsciously wanted to refuse.

“It should be.” Ling Xueqing interrupted her, her tone still calm, but with an undoubted sense of finality.”That’s the academic norm.”

It’s “norms” again.Ling Xueqing always uses these cold and correct rules to define the relationship between them and distribute each other’s income.This made the warmth that had just arisen in Ye Qiulan’s heart be mixed with a hint of familiar, slightly cool astringency.It seems that no matter what she does, she will eventually be included in Ling Xuequing’s clear and unmistakable framework, and get a precise position that matches her “value”.

She lowered her head and used her chopsticks to fiddle with the few grains of rice left on the plate.”…Oh.”

Ling Xueqing seemed to notice the slight drop in her mood. He looked at her lowered eyelashes and slightly biting her lower lip and remained silent for a few seconds.Then, she picked up the almost untouched, golden-fried poached egg on her plate with chopsticks and gently put it into Ye Qiulan’s plate.

Ye Qiulan looked up in shock.

Ling Xueqing had already retracted her chopsticks, with a natural look on her face, as if she was just putting aside the dishes she didn’t want to eat.”I can’t eat any more.” She explained, her voice lower than before, “Don’t waste it.”

The poached eggs in the cafeteria are always very oily and fried until the edges are slightly burnt.Ling Xueqing has always eaten lightly and rarely touches this.Ye Qiulan looked at the extra piece of shiny poached egg on his plate, and then looked at the side face of Ling Xueqing eating calmly. His throat seemed to be blocked by something soft.

The surroundings are still noisy.A boy carried a dinner plate and squeezed past their table, almost spilling the soup.Ling Xueqing calmly pushed her dinner plate and Ye Qiulan’s inside.

Ye Qiulan picked up the chopsticks, picked up the piece of poached egg, and took a bite.The oil is indeed very large, the egg yolk is solidified, and the taste is a bit old.But a strange, warm taste slowly spread along the esophagus to the limbs and bones.

She stuttered and said no more.Ling Xueqing also finished the last few bites of food on her plate in silence.Then she picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth, then picked up the dinner plate.”I’ll be at the library at half past two in the afternoon. Is it convenient for you?”

“…Convenient.” Ye Qiulan also wiped his mouth quickly and picked up his dinner plate.

The two of them walked to the leftover table together, dumped the leftovers and put the plates on them.Walking out of the cafeteria door, the scorching afternoon sun and noisy voices hit our faces again.They paused briefly at the door.

“Then, see you in the afternoon.” Ling Xueqing said.

“See you in the afternoon.” Ye Qiulan nodded.

Ling Xueqing turned around and walked towards the library.The pace was not fast, the back was straight, and he quickly merged into the sparse flow of people on the avenue.

Ye Qiulan stood there, watching her retreating back until she disappeared.Then, she raised her hand and gently pressed her stomach.There is still a slight but real feeling of satiety brought by the piece of poached egg.The afternoon sun made her feel dizzy, and the noise in the cafeteria seemed to still stick to her eardrums.